


Taking a Break

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-03 04:32:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14560947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Jim and Blair take a three-week break





	Taking a Break

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 sentinel bingo prompt 'road trip'
> 
> This story follows The Vigilante although it isn't actually a sequel

Taking a Break

by Bluewolf

With the case of the murdered children solved, Blair persuaded Jim to take three weeks of his accumulated leave. He would have liked to make it four, but three weeks was the sum total of Blair's leave entitlement, and while he knew Simon would be sympathetic, he didn't want it assumed that he was taking advantage of his position as partner to Major Crime's top detective.

Blair thought hard about where to go while Jim finalized his report on the killers. Somewhere Jim could relax... a camping holiday would be good, but Blair knew well enough that even over one weekend Jim would establish a territory and maintain a kind of guard over it. If they went to a hotel somewhere, it would be the same; so what he was looking for was a break where Jim wouldn't feel any need to establish a 'territory'. Which would mean not more than one night anywhere. Which would mean...

A road trip.

Hmmm... There were several options. The first - a bus tour - Blair rejected immediately. Jim would immediately establish the bus as his territory. Okay, it would be an undemanding one, but... They could go by car, spending each night in a different hotel or motel, but that would be quite expensive if they were to stay in the kind of establishment that wouldn't offend Jim's senses. Hell, even the kind of establishment that wouldn't offend Blair's senses. He had spent nights in cheap motels in the past, and shuddered at the memory of one or two of them.

Well, at least now he didn't have to pretend he was a cash-strapped student. But even so, he didn't want to spend several thousand dollars on dinner, bed and breakfast accommodation in top of the range hotels.

So what was an affordable option? Inspiration struck. Yes! Hire a camper van. Not the smallest size, though - medium size would be best - plenty of leg room without being ostentatious. He could do all the driving - or at least most of it. They wouldn't exactly be living out of suitcases. They could still have meals in good restaurants if they didn't feel like cooking. They could spend a day fishing and have a refrigerator to keep their catch cool - and he knew enough recipes that even if one of them caught a very big fish, enough to do them for, say, three days, Jim wouldn't have to think, "Oh god, not salmon salad again!"

Jim took his report in to Simon, and came back saying, "Simon's told us to take off now."

It took Blair all of thirty seconds to close down his computer and grab his coat.

***

In the elevator going down to the garage, Blair said, "How would you feel about hiring a camper van for our break? It would give us independence, something to stay in with a little more space than a tent, and I was thinking that we could maybe head south, see some of the country that we don't normally visit, rather than head into the Cascades. Maybe visit one or two of the National Parks - Yosemite, Death Valley, have a side trip into Las Vegas and an afternoon in one of the casinos - or even just visit one or two of the attractions the different hotels offer. Go on to the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, maybe the Canyons of the Ancients... and we'd be passing a few others like Bryce Canyon that'd be good for an hour or two."

"This is supposed to be a break, Chief - I was thinking more of just vegging out at home - " The elevator reached the garage and they headed for Jim's truck.

"Jim, if we stay at home you know what'll happen. Simon won't want to, but the Mayor or the Commissioner will come along with 'Simon, we need your best men on this - they're on leave? But they're just staying at home? They can catch up with their leave after they've solved this case...' And before you know where you are, they'll have you back working full time without ever having had a decent break. But if we go away, especially if we make sure our phones are switched off, Simon can truthfully say 'I don't actually know where they are,' and you get your full three weeks. I was thinking I could do all the driving so you didn't even have to concentrate on the road. We could just drive aimlessly, but aimless isn't your preference, or even mine; going around some of the National Parks gives us something to aim for. Sightseeing. It's undemanding, but it's amazing how interesting it can be, how much you end up wanting to see what's around the next corner... There's nothing to say we can't have dinner in a fancy restaurant some evenings, but I'll aim to do most of the cooking as well.

"You need the break, Jim. We can do a little hiking, maybe get the chance to have a day fishing - "

"Chief, if you do all the driving and cooking you won't get a decent break - "

"Jim, I don't deny I feel I need a break too, but not as much as you do. Anyway, I've driven big rigs for hours at a time - a camper van is nothing compared to that - and I enjoy cooking; you know that.

"So I suggest that on our way home we stop off and see about getting a camper van for the next three weeks - it's just early enough in the year that we should be able to get one without pre-booking it - then we can do some shopping for basics - and be ready to start off early tomorrow."

Jim looked at him, and smiled. "Okay, Chief. For the next three weeks you're the boss. I have to admit I'd like to see the Grand Canyon..."

***

And so, the following morning, they set off, following the I-5 south. They stopped for the night near Medford, then in the morning carried on southwards, reaching San Francisco mid-afternoon.

"Want to stop here for the night?" Blair asked.

"I'd rather not... if you don't mind driving a little further?"

Blair chuckled. "On we go, then."

He turned east, and headed for Yosemite, reaching it some four hours later. There, they booked in to one of the campsites for two nights.

They had a fairly lazy day in Yosemite, doing a little walking but mostly just enjoying what they could see from the road, and the next day left Yosemite for Death Valley and Las Vegas.

They chose not to delay in Death Valley. Blair was glad to have seen something of it, but knew he wouldn't choose to spend any length of time there.

Again, they spent two nights in Las Vegas. They had been promising themselves a visit there for years, but had never managed it. They went around several of the casinos, enjoying the entertainment laid on at each - Jim particularly enjoyed the Bellagio fountains - and gambling a few dollars just for the hell of it. In fact, both won - Blair, $25 on a slot machine, Jim, just over $400 playing blackjack. Then they went on to the Grand Canyon.

This was the one place Jim had been desperate to visit, and they stayed for a week, visiting the north and south rims; Jim took a trip via mule to the bottom of the canyon - a two-day trip - while Blair gritted his teeth and took a helicopter ride across the canyon on the first day, feeling he should be like Jim and do something a little more - well, adventurous, than just wandering along the canyon-top trails, and enjoying it more than he had expected to; then, on the second day, having found a seat near the stables, simply relaxed while he waited for Jim to return.

They spent that evening comparing notes on their respective trips - and if Jim quietly envied Blair the helicopter ride, Blair was more than happy with Jim's report on his trip down - and up - the side of the canyon.

Next morning they went to Monument Valley, choosing to take one of the bus tours through it rather than drive themselves, then carried on to Bryce Canyon. There were several possible walks; they took a two-mile one that took them to the bottom of the canyon then back up to the top, but then they had to walk back along the top to their camper van.

They decided they had time to go to Yellowstone, so headed north up the I-15 to Salt Lake City, where they had lunch, and from there carried on north to Yellowstone. It was a long day, and Blair wasn't sorry when Jim suggested they simply spend the next day relaxing. They spent it fishing, able to keep all the non-native species they caught, and the next day driving fairly aimlessly around, just enjoying the scenery, then the following day began to make their way homeward. Their route took them fairly near Old Faithful, so they made a quick side trip to see it, then headed for Spokane, where they planned to stay the night; it was just a little over halfway home. And then the next day they finished the journey back to Cascade, with the two last days of their break to return the camper van and then relax at home.

Surreptitiously watching his sentinel, the first night home, Blair decided that although he was fairly tired it had been well worth the trip; Jim was relaxed, his senses comfortable. And Blair knew that a day spent with his feet up at home, reading, would let him recover from the roughly 3500 miles he had driven over the past three weeks.

Yes.

It had been well worth the trip, Blair decided as he allowed Jim to coax him into the armchair before turning to prepare dinner for them. Jim was completely relaxed - though goodness only knew how long that would last once they were back at work - and he would be, once he had had a night's sleep.

And as he waited for dinner to cook, Blair started thinking where he would take Jim, the next time he could persuade his duty-obsessed friend to take a break.


End file.
